mats22 wrote:Also some famous guests were at the Hallenstadion last night watching the concert: Andreas Vollenweider, Marc Sway and Pepe Lienhard. Vollenweider needs no further presentation I think, Sway is a swiss soul singer with brazilian roots and Pepe Lienhard is best known as the leader of the bigband touring with Udo Jürgens for many years now.

Famous guests?
Never heard of any of them.
In fact I am struggling to think of a famous Swiss person.

Different Feelings after the Concert... but this has nothing to to with Leonard Cohen, the UHTC-Band. This has something to do with my own People...
Zürich especially... It is very hard to enthuse the crowd for every Artist.
I was at a view LC-Concert since 2008.
In 2013, I was in different Countrys for 7 Concerts. And I knew before the Show, that the Concert in my Hometown Zürich would be a "hard Night" for the "Master" and all his so professional, talented, gifted and beautiful Musicians.
When I remember how it was just a Month ago in Vienna and before in Berlin, Hamburg, Oberhausen etc.: the Zürich-Audience is very reluctant, it was so in 2008, they will ever be this way. That is not a secret. It is a fact. No one would clap, no one would threw one Flower up on the Stage (I know, they always say, that you have to give the Flowers to the Staff; but LC and the Band DID take the Flowers, when they came up to the stage. But in Switzerland, when the authority's make the announcements: "Don't threw the Flowers", we follow the orders exactly. This is our strength in one way. But for a Concert, for a LIVE-ACT, it is a little weakness).
So I wasn't surprised, that LC changed the Ending. I hear them talking before "Manhatten", something like "Play through and finishing"...
Surely I saw, that Leonard was a little bit tired; but he gave "everything that he got". And this was not insufficient, surely not.
It was just a different Night; but it was fair to this Audience; that's what comes to my mind.
But, at the Time, that I saw, that Lenny ask his Band in Front of the Stage for the final Applause, it was clear to me: this was it.
Honestly, I was hoping for more encores; we all do, didn't we?
But this was his decision... And maybe it has really something to do with the Hallenstadion-Work-crew: they are very, very early up on the stage...(as one guy wrote in the Forum).
But as I wrote before: it was adapted to the Audience, and it was a good Concert from LC and the whole Band. The Audience: well, this is another Story..
That's why I am so very, very lucky, that I have one more to go: Amsterdam...And then, the "withdrawal" will begin...
And, to be honest: I'll be a little bit afraid of this.
On the other side: Leonard, Sharon, Hattie, Charley, Javier, Alexandru, Mitch, Rafael, Neil and Roscoe (and all the Crew behind the Stage) gave me, gave us so very, very much the last Years... I really hope, that they will bring out another Live-CD/DVD, another Album.
But whatever Leonard decide to do: he have every right to do, whatever he likes to do... enjoy the Days, Leonard! You deserve it all!
You have proven everything... You are and you will be the Master, a true Legend! Be happy... but: we will miss you on the stages around the World, if this was your Farewell-Tour! In the past 5 Years, you conquer the whole World again!
Thank yo for all, what you have given us (and be assured: last Saturday Night was a good Night, maybe with a too "bearish attitude" from us, from the Zürich Audience)!
Uwe + Susanne, Switzerland

That's funny! I totally forgot about the crew showing up to take down the stage and equipment. It was the strangest thing. About two seconds after the lights came on they were there, a large group of young men, all wearing Leonard Cohen t-shirts and hard hats!

re. shoutouts.

One I forgot to mention, from a few rows behind me: "Lenny....I'm from Montreal!" got a nice tip of the hat from Mr Cohen.

re. setlist. I remember it slightly differently from the version on the setlist page (re. avalanche)

Set 1
Dance Me to the End of Love
The Future
Bird on a Wire
Everybody Knows
The Gypsy's Wife
Who By Fire
The Darkness
Amen
Come Healing
Lover Lover Lover (+intros)

HARD! they said, and hard it was — 11.15 delivered the gavel to our evening. The roaring crowd expected more, and ordinarily they would have received it, but time is unbending, never softening, forever ticking into the future. The house lights bathed us in workful radiance, and that was that. The chairs were cleared away, the trucks rolled in, and in 49 minutes, The Winning Team’s entire truck was packed, a new record — we think.

krsb99 - regarding "shoutouts" - I noticed another one.
Watching the video of "Hallelujah" uploaded by Gerdundula99 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSdLPR4sELc
A passionate performance by Leonard right from the onset - and Neil as well. But near the end - @6:09 - in between "Hallelujahs" there is what seems like an involuntary utterance/shoutout - something like - "YAH-OH" - from a man near the front. And then at the end of the song, the same man - "OH!" I think they may have all gotten "taken to church."

mats22 wrote:Also some famous guests were at the Hallenstadion last night watching the concert: Andreas Vollenweider, Marc Sway and Pepe Lienhard. Vollenweider needs no further presentation I think, Sway is a swiss soul singer with brazilian roots and Pepe Lienhard is best known as the leader of the bigband touring with Udo Jürgens for many years now.

Famous guests?
Never heard of any of them.
In fact I am struggling to think of a famous Swiss person.

A famous swiss person? Roger Federer! Okay, he wasn't there on Saturday

mats22 wrote:Also some famous guests were at the Hallenstadion last night watching the concert: Andreas Vollenweider, Marc Sway and Pepe Lienhard. Vollenweider needs no further presentation I think, Sway is a swiss soul singer with brazilian roots and Pepe Lienhard is best known as the leader of the bigband touring with Udo Jürgens for many years now.

Famous guests?
Never heard of any of them.
In fact I am struggling to think of a famous Swiss person.

Sometimes fame is relatively local.
There are apparently UK people who don't know who David Cameron is (lucky them)

@susanne30072009, Sometimes I wish we could "Like" a post. I liked yours. I think it would be very interesting to hear a comparison of audiences but then again I suppose that could be too much of a stereotyping opportunity.

sturgess66 wrote:
krsb99 - regarding "shoutouts" - I noticed another one.
Watching the video of "Hallelujah" uploaded by Gerdundula99 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSdLPR4sELc
A passionate performance by Leonard right from the onset - and Neil as well. But near the end - @6:09 - in between "Hallelujahs" there is what seems like an involuntary utterance/shoutout - something like - "YAH-OH" - from a man near the front. And then at the end of the song, the same man - "OH!" I think they may have all gotten "taken to church."

to strgess66: I get a little bit angry, everytime, when something like this is happening.
I'm clapping, singing (try to), and sometimes shouting too...
But NOT in Moments like this.... Everyone could do things, when the Time is right: in between the Songs, or sing with them in "So long Marianne" etc.
But in a Song with such dramatic atmosphere: it is just and simple the wrong place to do so!
It was funny, when the Man in the Audience let us all know, that he is from Montreal too; and Leonard salute him... I like things like that.
But to scream in Moments like this, Moments with this very quiet, very touching Parts. Moments, that came near to a Prayer: that is just and simply wrong... But I know, everyone will have a different way to see thing like this.
But I don't like it in Songs like "Hallelujah" etc: I want to hear every tune, that Leonard sings (or talk or "beg"...)
I hope, you know, what I mean...
But it will always be so....
Uwe, Switzerland

The audience was not that bad! Not that great as in Vienna f.e. (but there the security was very rude
and in Zurich very cool). I don't think the audience was the reason for the shortened concert. I did hope too
for a longer show - as the 3 shows before Zurich were again longer than the rest of the summer tour. Who knows
why and why almost every concert starts later than announced without any reason...